At least two of the ten Russian diplomats who remained in Chisinau after the recent expulsions have ties with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), while another two are registered at Moscow addresses that are associated with the Russian army’s intelligence directorate GRU, shows a new investigation conducted by RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service which is quoted by IPN.
The Republic of Moldova in August expelled 45 of the 70 Russian diplomats and technical personnel of the Embassy of Russia in Chisinau after an inquiry conducted in July by the Russian publication The Insider and Jurnal TV channel discovered an excessive number of antennas on the Embassy’s building.
As a result of that inquiry, the Moldovan authorities said that instead of focusing on the development of good relations, Moscow uses its diplomats in Chisinau for destabilization actions. Consequently, they demanded to limit the number of diplomats. But the investigation shows that after the massive August expulsion, Russian diplomats with ties with the FSB or the GRU remained in Chisinau.
According to Russian official databases consulted by RFE/RL, among the Russian diplomats working at the Embassy in Chisinau, who have ties with the FSB, are two first secretaries, which is high-ranking officials in the Russian diplomatic hierarchy, while the military attaché and his assistant were registered at Moscow addresses used by the GRU.
The investigation shows how Russia continues to fill the diplomatic corps at embassies with people from intelligence services despite the efforts made by European countries to remove spies who work under diplomatic cover. A March investigation by RFE/RL shows that at least three Russian diplomats who were expelled or declared undesirable in EU member states, including due to espionage suspicions, reappeared as Russian diplomats accredited in Serbia.
Russia’s Embassy in Chisinau didn’t respond to the requests made by the investigation’s authors to pronounce on the inquiry before its publication.
Asked about the main findings, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in a statement for RFE/RL on September 5 said the authorities took a number of firms steps needed to counter Russia’s destabilizing actions against the Republic of Moldova, including the ensuring of diplomatic parity amid suspicions about possible espionage actions. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations – a treaty of 1961 which regulates the practices and principles of diplomatic relations between the signatory states – the selection of the diplomatic personnel of the Embassy of the Russian Federation is within the remit of the Russian authorities.
